Seatbelt injuries reveal the truth behind Nelson crash which injured pregnant woman

A disqualified, drunk driver told police his seven months pregnant girlfriend was behind the wheel in a crash, but the pair's seatbelt injuries told a different story. Photo / 123rf

A drunk and disqualified driver who crashed and flipped his faulty car with his pregnant partner in the passenger seat tried to say she was behind the wheel at the time.

However, bruises from the seatbelt injuries found on Adam Michael Hubac and the woman revealed the truth, in that he had been behind the wheel and not her, Judge Tony Snell said.

Today, Hubac was sentenced to 150 hours of community work in the Nelson District Court, and disqualified from driving for a year on charges which included careless use of a vehicle causing injury, driving while disqualified and driving with excess breath alcohol after the crash last October in the Lee Valley south of Nelson.

Hubac was also sentenced on cannabis charges after police found utensils and a small amount of cannabis in the car.

Judge Snell said, in essence, Hubac had been driving drunk while disqualified, while knowing there was a problem with the power steering in his car.

He also left the scene after the crash, but it was accepted that he was seeking emergency help for his partner, who was 28 weeks pregnant at the time, and was injured.

The court heard Hubac was disqualified from driving for six months last May, on a charge of driving with excess breath alcohol.

However, on the afternoon of October 9 last year, he and his partner were travelling on Lee Valley Rd when Hubac rounded a corner, lost control, and hit a bank, which caused the vehicle to overturn and land on its roof.

Police said Hubac went to Richmond, some distance away, seeking help. Police then identified him as a disqualified driver, and a breath test revealed he was over the limit, with a breath alcohol level of 545 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath.

Police found at the scene evidence of Hubac’s illicit drug use, including a bong and 2g of cannabis plant.

Hubac told police he knew he was a disqualified driver and initially told them he had not been driving, but police quickly found from the pair’s seatbelt injuries that this was not the case.

His partner received a large cut, which required stitches, and suffered shoulder injuries.

Judge Snell noted Hubac’s “modest” history of offending on dishonesty and cannabis matters dating back to 2013 and then further offending in 2019, including an assault matter and drink-driving.

In the recent offending, Hubac should not have been driving because he was disqualified and knew there was a problem with the car, which made the drink-drive matter worse, Judge Snell said.

From a starting point of 200 hours’ community work, Hubac was sentenced to 150 hours after his early guilty pleas, and was disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.